Halloween Confessions
by DeepVoice'06
Summary: When five classmates get a hold of a private confessions tape from Arnold and Helga, they decide to emotionally blackmail them until they get the truth. This is the Sequel to Cafeteria Confessions, HAVE FUN!
1. Former Best Friend

**Halloween Confessions:**

**AN:** Yup, I'm back, for a second time. Hey, read my profile page if you wanna know what's going on with me. And I'm searching for a beta-reader if anyone's interested. I don't need one I suppose, but I'm sure the story would read a lot better with one. Anyway, here you go, a tale of _Cafeteria Confessions_. (I'd honestly recommend reading that story of mine before reading this one; it would help this make a lot more sense to you.) Enjoy it, and review and tell me if you want me to continue. Characters thoughts are in _italics_, headers and locations are in **bold**, pretty much how I wrote before. I know, it's short, and this Halloween story is gonna be short if you want me to continue, like 5 or 6 chapters, but I hope you still like it. :)

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><p><strong>HALLOWEEN CONFESSIONS: THE SEQUEL TO CAFETERIA CONFESSIONS<strong>

**Chapter 1: Former Best Friend**

Arnold cared deeply for his private girlfriend, no doubt about it. Even before they were official two weeks ago, he knew there was something between them. The nights alone in deep conversations had proved that. Sure, their relationship stood out as strangely as the Cafeteria Confessions did, or the FTI incident that summer, but he knew it could be kept secret. Like his _former_ best friend said, who would believe it? The bully and the victim? Private_ boyfriend_ and _girlfriend?_ The idea was _crazy!_ Then again, he was as_crazy_ as the idea. Arnold thought for sure he had nothing to worry about after a week. Helga had gone back to picking on him and everyone's suspicions about them seemed to die down. Everything was normal. All the drama was over after Mr. Lechleiter published his crazy paper, so why would they start thinking that Helga and him had something _beyond_ friendship going on? Boy, was he wrong! He failed to think about how things looked from his classmates' point-of-view; how they must be wondering why Helga and him were buddies now or even why their personalities flipped around. And he definitely failed to explain to Gerald what was going on the night he recorded Helga G. Pataki on tape. It was an honest mistake, after all. Then again, maybe he was just trying to hide her secrets, like he always was…

**Two Weeks Ago: Arnold's room**

Arnold answered his bedroom door for his best friend with a genuine smile and led him to the couch. "Hey Gerald, how's your family doing? Are they still getting along?"

"Don't switch around the subject on me, Arnold; I came over because I want to know what's really going on with you. In the last week, you've been avoiding my calls, and according to Phil, you haven't been home either. I'm your best friend, we've been since Pre-K. You should be able to tell me anything." He sat down beside him.

Arnold rubbed the back of his neck, nervously. How could he explain everything to Gerald without revealing anything about Helga? "It―it's really nothing to worry about, Gerald. I've been going through a lot at home with Grandma and Grandpa, Oscar just got thrown out a couple days ago, and I've been stressed. I needed time by myself to solve my own problems."

Gerald put a reassuring hand behind him and grinned. "Oscar got thrown out? Well, I guess raising money for rent for him and his wife is out of the question now, huh?" he blinked. "Wait a minute, what's going on with your Grandma? Is she okay?"

Arnold sighed, burying his head in his hands. _Might as well tell him since she's doing a bit better._ "She's okay. She was struck with a bad case of pneumonia and hospitalized for a few weeks. She's back home now with the heart transplant that was given to her. Grandpa and I have to monitor her behavior closely though, to make sure that her body receives it. It's difficult seeing my Grandma like that; she was always the one to save the day, not the one that needed to be saved, you know?"

Gerald's eyes widened. "Are you serious? You mean your Grandma's been in the hospital close to death for two weeks and you haven't even _told_ me about it?"

"I―I was going through a lot and then there was the project and the Confessions, I just didn't want to give up the problems, especially admit them to you to worry about for me."

"Mmm, mmm, mmm. Arnold, you know I'm here for you. I would've at least been a person to vent to. What's a best friend if you don't have them to lean on? The one thing I've learned what to do in the last few weeks is not to take on anyone's problems to solve, but I would've still been there for comfort."

He nodded. "I know, but I didn't want anybody to know what I was going through. In fact, if it weren't for Helga taking the problems for me and confronting me about my crazy behavior, I'd still think that I could solve everyone's―"

"―Hold up, now wait just a minute! Helga knew about your Grandma before _I_ did? Helga talked to you about your problems before you admitted them to _me?_ What's going on with you and her, anyway? I don't think I've _ever_ heard confessions as crazy as the ones made in the classroom today." _Are we losing our friendship or something, why all the secrets, buddy?_

He blushed, rubbing his arm. "I've been spending time with Helga lately, and she's really an amazing person; she's shown me how to deal with life and taught me that some problems can't be solved―"

"―And why did you admit to being manipulative, aggressive and crazy? And what's with the karate bow before I left? I wondered if you were really gonna attack us. What's going on with you and Helga, anyway? Are you saying…what I think your saying?"

He nodded, a bit of a blush still on his cheeks, as he got up and walked over to his computer. _Stay calm, stay calm. Don't tell him about Helga!_ He avoided the subject, changing it slightly. "Yes, but I'd rather not talk about who Helga and I really are right now. We made a deal that we would be open with each other and the class about our true selves, but I'm not sure I'm completely ready to accept it yet. The most difficult thing is not solving problems anymore. It's been my life and it's like giving up a part of myself: like an addict giving up a drug or a workaholic giving up their job. I'm not ready to be honest with myself just yet, and neither is she," he said, he had to continue to show Helga that he could be trusted again, especially right now when she wasn't around.

Gerald noticed a black mini tape sitting on Arnold's bed and looked at it curiously as his friend started typing on the computer and Arnold continued to talk.

"Any―anyway, thanks for your concern, but really, I'm doing fine. I've just had a lot to work through these last couple of weeks and even more to figure out." He turned around to look at Gerald, who was beside his bed, and who quickly put his hands being his back. Arnold was oblivious to him, just thinking about his new girlfriend and the upcoming holiday. "So Gerald, what are you gonna be for Halloween? Are we going around the neighborhood with the gang like we did last year?"

Gerald blinked, surprised that he didn't get caught taking the tape. "I don't know, man. Hey, how 'bout I call you tomorrow and we'll talk this out?"_I don't know about me, but I've gotta know what's going on with you. Maybe this tape will give me a clue why __you're being so private about everything. I think we even have one of them old VCR adapters somewhere in my house. I've got to watch this!_

Arnold nodded, turning back to his math homework assignment. "Okay, Gerald. I'll see you tomorrow in school. Hey, don't worry about me, okay? I know that things will get better." he was silently hoping he sounded convincing, the last thing anyone needed to find out was about him and Helga's relationship, and the least suspicions he made, the better. The last thing he thought was that he could be coming across as ignorant to his best friend.

Gerald faked a smile as he backed out of the room. "Yeah…I'll see you tomorrow, Arnold."

He shut the door, and that was the last Arnold saw of him and Helga's tape…


	2. Blackmailing Helga

**AN: **Sorry I didn't return so quickly, been busy. Um, I'll respond to reviews in a PM message, so if any of you wants a response from me, either sign in or leave your email address. I _WILL _get back to you. Yep, I got a beta-reader, and it reads _perfect _now, thank you! You know who you are! The first chapter's been looked over too. ;)

**Chapter 2: Blackmailing Helga**

**Arnold and Gerald: At Arnold's house…**

Arnold answered his bedroom door: it was Gerald.

"I stole the tape."

"I know. Why did you do it, Gerald?"

"You were acting strange, Arnold. I was starting to think that we were losing our friendship."

Arnold narrowed his eyes and put one hand on his hip. "So you decided to steal something from me, knowing we're best friends, and that I would tell you something if it was important?"

Gerald shrugged, walking into his room and sitting on the red couch. "Why didn't you tell me about you and Helga, then?"

He pointed a finger in accusation, walking over. "_Excuse me?_ Why you think that you have the right to take something that's mine and then come barging in my room and asking what's going on with me and Helga? It's none of your business what's going on!"

Gerald thought a moment. "There _is _something going on with you and her, huh?"

He sighed and walked away, not willing to face his best friend as he lied. "There is _nothing_ going on. Gerald: you're getting too involved with my life. If I had something to tell you about Helga, I would've let you know."

Gerald got up and stepped forward. "But— you told me about the safe-house, the project, and the cafeteria confessions."

He folded his arms and narrowed his eyes, looking at the wall, mumbling stubbornly to himself. "It doesn't matter. I have every right to keep some things to myself."

Gerald put an arm over Arnold's shoulders. "I just feel like we're losing touch here. I feel like your hiding something from me, and that all this stuff about being manipulative, aggressive, and crazy is true, and I want you to tell me something—"

"—_What,_ Gerald," Arnold snapped, pulling Gerald's arm off him and stomping away. "_What_ do you want me to say?"

"Maybe admit that you were wrong for not telling me what's going on and telling Helga instead? Maybe you could apologize for us not hanging out since fifth grade started. Or maybe I just want to know why, Arnold? Why Helga and you are so close now and why you seem to not want anything to do with me anymore."

"Is this what it's about, _you?_ You're worried you're losing my friendship to Helga, is that it? I never wanted to choose between the two of you, but now, you're giving me no choice! I have a grandma on a hospital bed, a lot of things I have to work through on my own, and now, all you can give me is more _stress?_ Why are you questioning me about stuff that's none of your business and stealing something that's mine?!"

Gerald looked torn apart. "I'm sorry! I just wanted some answers! In the seven years we've been best friends, you've never kept anything from me."

"Well, maybe it's about time that I start!"

"Are you _serious?_ Is this the way you want our friendship to end? You really want a girl to come between us?"

Arnold held out his hand. "Give me the tape."

He pulled his backpack around and looked into it, and whispered to himself. "Oh, no."

"What do you mean, _oh no,_ what did you do with the tape, Gerald?!"

"I—I had it in my backpack coming over this afternoon to give back to you after I watched it. It's unzipped and it must've—it must've fallen out."

"GERALD!" Arnold snapped.

Gerald backed away, towards the door. "I didn't do it on purpose! I'll get the tape back, I swear—"

"Bye, Gerald!" Arnold slammed the door in his former best friends face.

**Sid, Stinky, and Harold: Walking home from school…**

"Why, I reckon we got more homework than we did last year at this time."

Sid added. "Boy howdy; you're right! I guess since Halloween's on a Friday this year, Mr. Simmons decided to give us more homework for the weekend."

"It isn't fair being in fifth grade!" Harold complained. "I wanna quit school and just lazy around at home, eat chocolate, and do nothing!"

"Wait a minute," Sid stopped walking as the others did as well. They looked down and saw a mini tape that was lying on the sidewalk. "What's _this?" _Sid picked it up.

"Why, I reckon it's a little ol' camcorder tape."

Sid said. "Well, what are we waiting for? My dad has some old VHS players that will play this thing. Let's watch it!"

**Sid, Stinky, and Harold at Sid's house: in the living room…**

After they were done the movie, Sid, Stinky and Harold looked at each other with surprise and shock in their eyes, and then started laughing hysterically.

Sid was excited. "Oh my God, that was the funniest thing I've ever watched! Helga's in love with Arnold! Do you think it's true, you guys?"

"Did Arnold just say he was in love with her, too?" Stinky scratched his head in confusion.

"Who cares about what Arnold said, Stinky, Helga said she's in love with him. Do you know what this means?!"

"Does it mean Arnold and Helga are gonna start walking around school, holding hands and…ugh…kissing each other?"

Sid looked a little freaked out a moment before replying. "Uh, _no_… It means that we have the chance to get Helga back for all the nasty stuff she's done to us over the years!"

Harold looked hopeful. "Does that mean Helga won't hit me anymore?"

"Even better than that, Harold; once everyone finds out that Helga loves Arnold, she'll have no respect! She won't be able to bully us around anymore and she'll pay for all the things she's done! Helga having a love interest is beyond scary and humiliating, especially if that love interest is Arnold. She_ HATES_ him."

"We can finally get even with her, _YEAH!"_ Harold laughed.

Sid nodded to them, his two friends grinned back. "That means Helga Pataki will be the laughing stock of PS: 118! It's the_ perfect_ _Halloween Confession_! And with Rhonda's party coming around this Friday, it will be the perfect time to show it!"

"Fellers, that's four days away. What are we going to do until then?"

Harold punched one fist into his hands. "Yeah, I want something to do right now! And it isn't homework!"

"How about this," Sid said, "I'll confess to Arnold what we have, and I'll give him a choice, either tell us about who he and Helga really is based on his class presentation, or have the whole school find out she's in love with him."

Stinky looked a little lost. "Why would we care about that?"

Harold piped in. "Yeah, who cares about who Arnold and Helga are! I just want her to suffer!"

Sid said. "You guys keep forgetting. If we find out how Helga's really _smart, nice,_ and _compassionate,_ we can pick on her for that too!"

"Double humiliation! _Yeah!"_ Harold laughed.

"Payback's the best, fellers."

"Wait a minute," Harold said. "When's Arnold going to tell us something about himself? Aw, I'm so confused!"

Sid said, "Remember that bow he gave us before we left class a couple weeks ago?" Stinky and Harold nodded. "This is the_ perfect_ time to question him about it. This way we'll know whether or not we should trust him and get his advice again. Remember what he said about himself? That he's manipulative and crazy? Well, I don't want advice from a_ crazy_ person, do you?"

"Gosh, Sid. That'd be awful."

Harold added, "And then we can rule our own lives for a change! No more of Helga picking on us and we can make our own choices!"

"It's going to be like killing two birds with one stone. We'll humiliate Helga, and get Arnold and his stupid, nosey advice out of our lives. This is going to be the best Halloween ever! Now I've just got to call Rhonda and tell her what we're planning to do at her costume party this friday."

**Arnold and Sid: At Arnold's house…**

Arnold answered the door, and sighed when he saw who it was. "Sid, what's wrong? Why are you visiting me right now?"

Sid took Arnold's hand, "Arnold, let's sit on your bed! I think me and you ought to have a bit of a discussion."

As soon as they sat down, Arnold raised an eyebrow. "But, what's this about, Sid? You're not trying to pay me back for anything again, are you? Or think that Stinky's a vampire and you need help destroying him again, do you?"

"What? No, Arnold; I know I don't owe you anything and I definitely am not trying to pay you back. I just wanna know if what was shown on the tape with you and Helga is true."

Arnold blinked. "Sid, why do you have a tape that doesn't belong to you? Why are you always stealing everything that's mine! First it was my room, now it's—"

"—Good! I was hoping it was yours. So then you know exactly what was said on the tape, right?"

"Sid, if this is some sort of attempt at blackmailing Helga and me; I want you to know that I don't appreciate it. We have a choice to keep something's to ourselves, and just because you've seen a tape on us kissing that doesn't mean that we're really together."

"But that's it, isn't it, Arnold?"

Arnold blinked rapidly and blushed uncontrollably. He sat up from his bed and walked away, to hopefully hide his face from Sid.

Sid grinned back, following him. "I can tell that's it by the way you're _face is turning all red_!"

"Sid, I'm serious! It doesn't mean anything! I…um—" He had no excuse. The cat was out of the bag, and he had no clue how to defend Helga.

"—Face it, Arnold, you're caught red handed! You can't get out of this one! Your bully and you are actually dating now! Not only that, but she confessed on tape just how much she loves you and has loved you for a long time! And now, everyone's going to find out about all of this!"

Arnold's eyes widened. "Sid, you really can't say anything to anyone. This can't be like that 'bunny pajama' incident."

"On one condition I'll keep it private, Arnold."

"Name it."

"Tell me about you and Helga's hidden self. Be honest to me about the manipulative you and the passive Helga."

Arnold blushed even more "I—I really can't do that. I mean, me is one thing, but without Helga's permission, I can't tell you _anything_ about her."

"Then that means at eight on October 31st at Rhonda's party this year, Helga's love for you is going to become common knowledge! Unless you and Helga both confess to me who you really are, Rhonda is going to show the tape at her party, then Helga, who's been picking on us all of these years is finally going to _pay!"_

"Sid…why are you doing this to us…I thought you were my friend." Arnold looked down at the ground in defeat.

"Sorry Arnold, but Helga's humiliation is really important right now. It's nothing against you. Well, I better go. See you later, Arnold."

"But, wait Sid, I—"

The door closed.


	3. More Confrontations

**AN: Here ya go! I'll be on chat later tonight or tomorrow, but right now, I have a headache I'm trying to get rid of.**

**Chapter 3: More Confrontations**

**In Mr. Simmons class: In the morning…**

Rhonda fluffed up her hair as she walked over to Helga. "Hey, you_ are_ coming to the costume party I'm having this Halloween, aren't you, Helga? It's going to be all the_ rage_ of the year, you know."

Helga crossed her arms, not wanting to deal with the "princess" today. "I wouldn't be caught _dead _at that thing—"

"—Because you know, there's quite a rumor going around about you and Arnold, and I heard it's going to be announced at the party."

Helga's eyes twitched around, until she caught sight of her private boyfriend, walking in the classroom. She responded back, trying to hide her nervousness. "I…I _don't_ know what you're talking about—"

"—Word on the street is that you and Arnold are an item now, and if you don't come clean, the tape has the words to tell the story itself."

"What _story?" _Helga was terrified now, and trying to hide it. _Who the HECK found out?_

"Don't play dumb. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about, Helga. I'm sure you've seen the tape, in fact, you're on it." She smiled, smugly.

"Tape, what tape!?"

"Oh, so they haven't told you what they're doing this Halloween at _your_ expense."

Helga growled in annoyance. _Why is she going around in circles! _"If you got something to say, I suggest you say it now before I knock your teeth out!"

Rhonda put her hands on her hips, looking down. "Oh, I wouldn't suggest doing that, Helga. Even with my teeth gone, people are_ still_ going to talk about you, and you're _still _going to be teased about it. I heard from a wise source that you love Arnold; the tape even has you saying it! Rest assured, if you don't tell us more about this HELGA and Arnold doesn't tell us more about this ARNOLD you guys keep hiding from everyone, I'm afraid I'm going to have to vocalize your secret. Either ways, something's getting said to everyone."

_"What?"_

"You _do_ remember that revenge is a dish best served cold, right? Well, I hear it's going to be a cold night at my costume party. It's about time too, considering how long you've been mocking me and laughing at me behind my back. _Ciao_." She walked away to continue giving out her invites.

Helga's face grew pale. She _had _to find her boyfriend, _now!_

**Arnold and Helga: In the Janitors Closet…**

Helga screamed at her love, pinning him against the wall. "What did you _do,_ _head-boy_?!"

Arnold pulled her back slightly. "Calm down, Helga. I didn't do it on purpose. Gerald entered my room, saw the tape on my bed and took it."

"Oh, criminey," she moved around frantically. "How am I going to_ live_ if that tape gets out at Rhonda's party? I'll be a public _basket case_ for the rest of my live! Why didn't you tell me this sooner! This was important! This is the kind of things we need to talk about! And why did you just have our confessions tape, conveniently _lying_ on your bed in the first place! It's supposed to be _private!_ Even someone as thickheaded as _you _would know that. I thought Wartz getting a hold of this would be bad, Arnold-o, but _this? This _takes the cake!"

"It's okay; I'm trying to figure out what to do here! Just—just calm down!" He looked just as scared as she did.

"It's _just_ like all of your other problems, Arnold-o, you can't solve them!" She sighed and looked away. "They already know how I feel about you. It's only a matter of time before it gets to everyone else."

"How do you know that?" He hugged her gently. "Hey, look, we might still be able to get the tape back."

She leaned into him, feeling pathetic and hopeless. "Like we did with the cafeteria confessions? What, are we going to sneak into their houses, look for it and if we _happen _to find it, steal it without getting caught? Nice try, Arnold."

"I know…I just don't want you to worry anymore."

"Look, Arnold, there's nothing we can do right now unless we go to the party and steal it from Rhonda _ourselves._ I already told Rhonda I'm not going, so if I dress up, she's not going to suspect me." She pulled back from Arnold, holding his shoulders and looking into his eyes.

He nodded, feeling weak as he looked into her eyes. He tried to think up an intelligent response. "That's good advice, Helga, and I'm definitely going to take it. We'll walk in the party with our costumes on, part ways to hunt for the tape together and—"

"—Whoa, hold it there, _lover-boy._ Do you _really_ think that _you're _going to be looking for the tape with me?"

He rubbed his shoulder, nervously. "I was assuming. I mean—I, I _am _your boyfriend, and all I want to do is help you out."

"Aren't you forgetting one small thing?" She turned him to a small mirror in the closet and pointed at his reflection until he caught on and his eyes widened. "_Football-head, _your head stands out like a deer in the headlights!"

Arnold sighed. "I want to do _something_ for you."

"Distract everyone! I'll go to the dance with you in another disguise and steal the tape myself."

He crossed his arms and mumbled stubbornly at her idea. "I_ hate_ you and your disguises."

She changed the subject, not wanting to talk about _herself _at the moment. "So, I'm guessing Gerald-o still has the tape? Why didn't you get it back from him! You should have noticed that thing as soon as it was gone!" _Keep accusing him. Yep, that's one way to let him into your heart, Pataki…_

"I don't know who has the tape right now. Gerald tried to bring it back to me, but it dropped out of his backpack." He looked defeated.

"_Great!_ For all we know, somebody from our_ class_ has it."

"That's what I'm thinking. Sid _did _offer for Rhonda not to show it at the party, but I had to come clean about who you and me are, and tell them that instead of admitting your love for me."

Her eyes widened at his words, "Oh _criminey,_ now I'm being _blackmailed_. I should've known that all I've done throughout the years would catch up to me. But—wait a minute, you never told Sid anything about my hidden personality, even to get the tape back?"

He pushed her lightly against the wall and touched her lips with his fingers. He wished he could kiss her, but he didn't want to go too fast, especially when she insisted on making their relationship private. "I know the tape is important, but your privacy is important too. You told me the day I became your boyfriend that you wanted it to stay private. I admit, I would rather be open about it. Hold your hand in the hallways, glance at each other in class, but I care about you. If you feel the need to tease and mock me the rest of the year to keep your secret hidden, that's fine, and there's no way I'm going to expose you either."

She stared into his eyes, wishing she could just get a little physical with him. She couldn't do that unless she was open about herself and her relationship with him to everyone else, right? I mean, that _is _what he said to her two weeks ago. "You_ really_ love me that much, Arnold? You're _really_ that selfless? Even though you have a chance to be public about our relationship and who I am, you'd_ really_ not reveal who I am and help me find the tape again to destroy it? That's _crazy!"_

He smiled. "But I _am _crazy, Helga. And of_ course_ I would do that for you. I know we'll eventually be public down the line. But the things that are important for me right now are not _my_ needs, but yours. It's the least I can do after the cafeteria confessions went public, anyway. I shouldn't have gone crazy on you."

"But that's what I love about you, Hair-boy. You're _crazy._ I wouldn't have my boyfriend any other way but how you are." She squeezed him affectionately. Maybe they could finally make-out again.

"And I wouldn't have you any other way but compassionate and supportive either." God, just a little bit closer and they could finally kiss.

"Great! Now we just have to find a disguise so that nobody else can see us like that."

He forced himself to step back. _I can't get too close to her. If she wants to be private, I need to keep respecting her boundaries and keep the physical expression of our feelings at a minimum. _"I'll be a vampire, but—what will you be for the costume party, Helga…?" he smiled shyly at her.

"I don't know. I haven't given it much thought."

"You know….you _could_ be Cecile."

Helga was shocked. "H—how did you know I was _Cecile!?"_

"Your bangs dropped in front of your eyes when we were confronting each other at the school that night. I recognized you were her immediately. It's nothing to be ashamed about, Helga."

"Wait a minute; you weren't freaked out by it?" She was surprised.

"I already knew you loved me. Why would I be surprised if you were my French pen pal? Besides, at the time, I was too afraid that you would reveal me."

She thought about it. "Hmmm…that actually is a pretty good idea. All I've got to do _now _is go through some dresses, make some adjustments, and I'll be ready. Oh—I _do_ need to buy a mask and dye streaks of my hair black—"

"—Black hair! Why?" _I love your blonde hair, Helga…_

"Arnold, _please;_ you're as dense as a house brick, but other people aren't. If people see me with blond hair and know I'm not showing up, they'll put two and two together and know it's me."

"Oh come on, I'm not_ that_ thickheaded." He crossed his arms, feeling stubborn and more like his _true _self, although he didn't know why.

"Face it, Arnold-o. That's another part of your personality you're just going to have to accept." She grinned.


	4. Stealing the Tape

**AN: I'm posting this a little early because I have Black Friday deals I have to go and get this weekend, and Christmas decorations and gifts I've got to start getting/wrapping. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Enjoy this chapter...uh, sorry about the cliffhanger, lol.**

**Chapter 4: Stealing the Tape**

**Rhonda's Party at the door: Seven at night…**

Rhonda "The Halloween Princess" hugged Arnold. "Arnold, darling, so glad you could make it!" she curtsied, showing off her red and black princess costume.

He pulled back, gave her a fake smile, and lied, "Thanks, Rhonda. I'm glad that I could make it here."

"And who is _this_ you brought with you?" Rhonda said, looking at his black and yellow haired companion. She had on a medium length pink dress and a pink and black mask to cover her eyes.

Arnold introduced them, lying, and acting as though it was the first time they had met. "Rhonda, this is my French pen pal, _Cecile. Cecile,_ this is my classmate, Rhonda."

"Why, I absolutely _love_ the colors of that dress on you!"

"_Merci beaucoup_, Rhonda!" "Cecile" curtsied politely, showing compassion.

"Well, you two make yourselves at home. There's punch in the living room and entertainment will start at eight. Cecile, we _must_ talk about your wardrobe later." Rhonda was impressed.

"_Oui, vous voir plus tard_!" "Cecile" said fluently with a light nod. She turned to Arnold as Rhonda walked away from them and they entered the house. "Now, _dear,_ go find something to do while I search the place, _oui_?"

He looked at her; giving anything to just _kiss her. _He inwardly sighed and stopped himself: _No, I can't! She wants to be private about this. I can't do that here!_ "Uh—sure—sure, whatever you say."

"Cecile" waited a moment for him to leave, when he didn't, she just sighed. "Okay, what's the deal? Why aren't you moving? We've got stuff to do!"

He didn't want to leave her just yet. "How…How did you learn such fluent French?"

"Cecile" blinked underneath her mask, and then smiled lightly at the compliment. "Oh, _oui_, _mon amant_, it's quite simple. I have tapes at my house to learn from."

"When did you…oh, never mind. I'm guessing it's when we saw each other at—"

She puts a finger to his lips. "_C'est la vie_" and waved at him, walking off to find the tape.

Arnold blinked to get out of his trance and looked around until he found Gerald at the punch bowl. Gerald was wearing a cowboy outfit. The reason Arnold could tell it was him was because of his hair.

Gerald noticed him, too. "Hi, Arnold."

"Hey, Gerald."

"I'm sorry, man. I feel awful about the tape, and if I knew Sid, Stinky, and Harold would get a hold of it and blackmail you guys, I would've _never_ done it." He poured Arnold a cup and offered it to him.

He took the cup from Gerald and spoke. "So_ that's_ all the people who got a hold of the tape. I've been wondering about that. Look, I'm not giving you a lecture on how what you did was wrong. I'm sure you already know that. Also, there's no point in telling you what you should do. You probably won't listen anyway." He took a drink. Gerald took a drink as well, but unknown to Arnold, he was listening intently. "I just wish there was away to get the tape back. Not mostly for my sake, but for Helga's. I don't want her to be picked on. She's had enough to deal with in life because of her family. I guess I just want to save her, solve _her_ problems now because of what she means to me. Maybe I even expected there to be some good in people after what I've been through. I guess it was just a _crazy _dream, like all of my other ideas, and just like me."

Gerald put his arms around Arnold's shoulders. "I don't want this to be something that causes you not to speak to me again. I see now that Helga's important to you, and if she's important to you, then she's important to me, too."

Arnold stepped away. "I appreciate it, Gerald, but it's too late. Once eight o'clock hits, Helga will be exposed. Anyway I better get back to Hel—uh, Cecile. I'll see you later."

Gerald silently stared at him as he walked off.

Arnold walked into Rhonda's kitchen and noticed "Cecile" alone in the room looking out the back window despondently, still wearing her mask.

He walked up to her and whispered in her ear. "Any luck with finding the tape?"

She sighed because of how close he was, and out of frustration. "No, I haven't. Have you found it yet?"

"I wish I did," he slid against a window panel. He put his face in his hands in frustration; wishing things could just go back to the way they were. "I wish this had never happened. I am so sorry for recording you on that tape—"

"—Everyone, I have an important announcement! It is time to play _Truth or Dare_. Everyone, report to the living room!"

Arnold stood up, as "Cecile" glanced at him. They both wondered if they should participate. Helga shrugged, and Arnold followed her out of Rhonda's kitchen.

Once there, everyone sat around in a circle on the carpet. Once everyone took their place, Rhonda spoke,

"Seeing as how it's _my_ idea to play Truth or Dare, I believe I should start."

Nadine spoke up. "Wait a minute, Rhonda. Shouldn't we explain how the game is played?"

"Nadine, who do you think hasn't played truth or dare by now?" When Nadine gave her a look, Rhonda continued. "Oh, fine. How the game's played is I pick somebody from the circle, they pick truth or dare. I ask them a question if they pick truth, or dare them to do something if they pick dare. They _have_ to do one or the other. There's no way out of it. If that person doesn't, they will have to reveal for five minutes things that are embarrassing about themselves to _everyone._ Basically, if you choose not to do the dare, you pay the consequences."

Everyone nodded to her, agreeing except Arnold and "Cecile", who looked at each other, a little bit concerned now that they decided to participate. The both were too proud to step out, though.

Rhonda made no hesitation as she chose her first contestant. "Arnold, truth or dare."

Arnold thought a moment. What would have fewer consequences for him and Helga if Rhonda tried to blackmail them now? He chose carefully. "What about truth?"

Rhonda smiled smugly. "Arnold….you _do_ know what happened on that tape we're going to show later tonight, so tell the_ truth_ to all of us while she isn't here: does Helga really _love_ you?"

Arnold looked down where he was sitting, truly at a loss at what to do. He _had_ to lie to protect her. "I…I don't know."

"Sid told me on the tape that Helga and you confessed your feelings."

"Um…" He looked away, nervously.

Sid spoke up. "And you guys even kissed! So obviously something happened that we don't know about. Tell us about it, Arnold?"

Everyone began whispering around them and Arnold's cheeks turned red. Helga was sweating; absolutely terrified that Arnold would crack and tell them her secret.

Nadine replied. "Arnold, is that true?"

Harold, Sid, Stinky were laughing and gave each other a high five. Gerald was quiet as Nadine and Rhonda looked at Arnold expectantly.

_Oh, criminey, he's not going to TELL them, is he? He can't! He promised he wouldn't! But…what if he doesn't?! Then he will HAVE to tell them who HE really is. Why did I agree to play this stupid game? Oh…what do I do…what do I do?_

Arnold looked up with an annoyed frown and narrowed eyes into Rhonda's. "I want a dare instead."

Rhonda gasped. "You can't be_ serious. _You can't just _change_ your mind."

Arnold crossed his arms, letting some of his _true self _be exposed. "I'm changing my mind or I'm out of the game, and you're not doing anything to convince me to stay."

Rhonda looked at Nadine, who just shrugged as a response.

She then nodded and turned back to Arnold. "Okay, then I _dare_ you to call Helga and tell her that you _hate_ her."

Sid and Stinky grinned at each other as Harold laughed uncontrollably.

Gerald gave Rhonda the nastiest look. "Rhonda, he shouldn't have to do that. You know Arnold, he's true blue, and there's no _way_ he's going to call somebody and tell them he hates them, even if it's Helga." He was silent about Helga's feelings because he knew Arnold wanted them private, and he respected his wishes.

"Then he has no choice but to tell us about himself and his manipulative, aggressive, and crazy side."

Arnold was getting angry fast. How could he possibly call Helga when she was right there? And how could he honestly call _anybody_ and pretend they were her? He'd have to be _crazy_ to tell his family or anyone that he _hated_ them. He almost had to back out. "This is completely ridiculous. I don't hate anybody, and I'm not doing that to somebody just because I'm dared to."

Rhonda stood up and walked over to him, kneeling down between him and "Cecile". "Then tell us the truth Arnold, who are you _really?_ You showed us during your presentation two weeks ago. Why don't you tell us about this _Arnold_ none of us but _Helga _has seen before?"

Arnold narrowed his eyes. What was _wrong_ with his classmates!? Helga hadn't been_ that_ bad to them over the years. She didn't deserve this, and neither did he. He was angry, and maybe being _him_ for five minutes wasn't a bad idea after all…


	5. Halloween Confessions

**AN: Here ya go! Read and review please! Now to wrap some christmas presents and eat something...**

**Chapter 5: Halloween Confessions**

"Rhonda, I have a question for you. Seven months ago, who was at the boarding house because her parents' stocking account dropped?"

Rhonda's eyes grew wide. Why was he bringing up _that__?_ "Well, I—"

"—Or who had to sit in the back of the bus and was even looked down on until she got contacts?"

Rhonda blushed lightly. "Um…I—"

"—Or who got into a fight with her best friend over a _stupid_ project! And who was stuck in the middle of this!?"

Rhonda pulled at her collar, nervously. "Arnold…I don't think that—"

"—Because if you want to know who I am, that's _fine. _Any normal person would be as angry as me because of what you and everybody else are trying to do to Helga and me. What's _your_ excuse for _your _behavior?!" Rhonda's eyes were wide open now as Arnold got up and walked over to Sid. "And Sid, I don't understand why you would even _think _about blackmailing somebody after the stuff _you've _done."

Sid looked a bit shocked. "Stuff I've done? What do you mean?"

Arnold sat beside him. "First of all, you tried to blackmail Helga when we started fourth grade just because her newspaper reports weren't one hundred percent true, but what did she ever do to _you_ in those reports?"

Sid narrowed his eyes. "Gerald _asked_ me for those photos."

"That doesn't give you an excuse! What_ were_ you doing with photos like that anyway? You didn't have to _spy _on her! What she does is _her_ business, not _yours!_ You could've said no to Gerald."

"Um, Arnold—"

"No, Sid. I want you to listen to what I'm saying right now. Who thought they killed Principal Wartz and dragged me along for the ride? Who used my room and _lied_ telling everybody it was _his_, and who insisted on following me around day and night, not giving me a moment's peace, ALL BECAUSE I SAVED YOU FROM A FALLING PIECE OF PLYWOOD!?"

Sid panicked. "What? Arnold, you've got to be kidding—"

"You wanted me to tell you who I _really _am. Well, _fine!_ I'll tell you _exactly_ who I am. I'm the guy that saves the day all the time and gets treated badly for it. I'm the one who helps two ex-best friends get back together, staying up all night because both call me back and forth, back-stabbing one another! _I'm _the one who gets bribed to go to the movies just so somebody can steal my _own room_. Yeah, I may be manipulative, aggressive, and crazy, but after dealing with solving all of _these_ problems, who wouldn't be?! You guys _make_ me crazy, _stress_ makes me crazy, and not having my _parents_ around makes me crazy! And you know what? I'm _okay_ with that, whether you guys are or not, and you want to know _why?_ Because what you guys do to me behind my back is one hundred times worse than anything I've _ever_ revealed about myself!" Cecile, Gerald and everyone else stared speechless at Arnold, thinking about what he was saying to them. Arnold continued, taking a deep breath. "So, _look_ at each other for a minute, would you? Why don't you choose to look in the mirror for once, and choose to see who _you_ really are behind everyone's backs? Sid, you'll _finally_ see that you're nothing but a crazed psychotic lunatic who's willing to take, steal, bribe, and blackmail _anyone_ to have some drama in his life! Rhonda, you're nothing but a two-faced snob who lives all for herself and doesn't care about anyone else. You live for the popularity, the stories! And if you're given a chance between staying out of something in order to keep the peace, or spread the word to gain the fame, you'll pick the fame over your best friend, over your family and even _lie_ to everyone else to convince them that you're not _POOR!_" He scowled with an evil and manipulating grin at her.

Rhonda's eyes filled with tears. "P…P…Poooo…"

"Yes, that's what I said, and you can say it, too. Rhonda Wellington Lloyd was _poor_. You were going through trash cans, _and _living at the boarding house, with one pair of clothes. _POOR!"_

Rhonda ran out of the room and into the kitchen, crying. "No!"

Everyone in the circle stared at Arnold as he walked back over to "Cecile" to sit next to her.

"Cecile" was staring at Arnold, too. A little surprised that her love would reveal him in order to save her from having to do it.

Arnold wiped off his forehead and sighed deeply. "Well, now that I've done my five minute penalty speech, it's time for me to pick somebody else." Everyone in the circle looked terrified, afraid of who he would pick and what he would ask. "Sid, truth or dare."

"Uh," Sid's eyes twitched back and forth nervously. What could he do?! "Um, truth!"

Arnold put a hand on one hip and narrowed his eyes. "What exactly did you do with the tape? What I mean is—where is it right now?!"

"I—I can't tell you." Sid lowered his gaze to the carpet.

"Why can't you? Sid, the game is '_Truth or Dare'_. You chose _truth._ You _have_ to tell me," he said, repeating the exact same thing Rhonda had said to him earlier.

"I—I want to do a dare." Sid gulped.

Arnold smirked. "Okay. I dare you to get the Confessions tape and give it back to me."

Sid stood up and backed away. "I—I can't do that Arnold—"

Arnold got up and stepped towards him, fast. "_Now,_ Sid! I'm not waiting a minute longer! Give me the tape!"

Sid backed into a wall, looking terrified. "Rhonda has it!"

Arnold eyes widened as he approached Sid. "Are you _serious!?_ Rhonda can't _possibly _have the tape."

"I gave it to her when she asked me to earlier today! Unless she laid it down, she has to have it—please, don't hurt me, Arnold!" Sid slid down to the wall in fear and started crying silently, burying his head in his hands.

Arnold sighed, and realizing he was telling the truth, sunk down to the ground as well.

Stinky looked at Arnold. "I reckon you're not going to get the tape back now, Arnold."

"Cecile", who had been watching everything curiously, stood up, curtsied and said aloud. "_Excusez-moi_ un instant, I need a glass of water."

Arnold watched her walk off, knowing what she was doing and hoping against hope that Helga could steal the tape from Rhonda, somehow.

Rhonda was at her kitchen table crying hysterically.

"Cecile" walked over cautiously and spoke in a soft high voice. "Is something the matter, Rhonda?"

"You wouldn't understand it. It's about this girl I have class with everyday. She's mean, insensitive, and doesn't care about anyone but herself."

"Cecile" acted like she didn't know anything. "So, why would you…how do you say it…seek revenge on her? Is she really that bad?"

"Cecile, she's the worst person _ever!_ Since preschool, she's done nothing but mock and ridicule everyone she's around. She's _bossed_ me around during our nutrition play, _ruined_ my slumber party, _threatened_ me to wear a tacky crazy looking dress for our school play, _lied_ to me about making it, and half a dozen other things I'm not going into right now. I just want her to pay a little for what she's done. Is that so _wrong?_"

"Cecile" looked thoughtful for a moment: _'Wow. I never realized how mean I've been to her before. Have I really been like that to everyone since pre-school…maybe…maybe it makes sense that she wants to hurt me. If somebody did all that to me, I'd feel the same way. Actually, that's why I fought back in pre-school. Being laughed at by everyone was the last thing I wanted. Maybe Arnold's right; everyone does have feelings, and not just Big Patty. Maybe I should…criminey, am I actually having second thoughts about this. Helga, this is no time to become your true self. But then, what do I say to her?_

"Cecile" put a loose hand over her enemy's shoulders, being herself without realizing it. "Rhonda, maybe Helga didn't mean to hurt you. Maybe she didn't know what she was doing—maybe—"

"Oh, Cecile, you do _not_ know Helga G. Pataki. Of _course_ she would do it all to hurt us, why else would she? And frankly, when you really think about it, what _else_ would you expect us to do, now that we have the perfect opportunity to _embarrass_ her and drag her face in the mud? We might never have this chance again! And I, for one, am going to _love _watching her squirm as we air out her dirty little secrets!" With that, Rhonda ran into the living room.

"Cecile" gasped, running to find Arnold and trying to think of something_ fast_, before it was really too late!

Arnold saw "Cecile" running to him and looked at a loss at what to do once again. She took a deep breath and whispered to him. _"Ne vous inquiétez pas, mon amour."_

Arnold looked back at Rhonda as she grabbed the tape from her room and a VCR adapter to put the tape in and put the tape in, and the whole room sat around, watching Helga speaking on the television.

"And here I am, alone, still not being able to tell you my true deepest darkest secret," she sighed, and then looked up into the camcorder surprised. "Wait a minute; I'm on tape…Gr—" It went black for a moment, and there was a loud static noise throughout the whole room. It skipped, and then it stopped, popping out of the VCR.

"Cecile's" face was covered with her hands and she was crying slightly. "Is it over, Arnold?"

Arnold looked at "Cecile". "Um—I don't know what's going on; the tape just went black and stopped."

"Cecile's" head shot up in surprise. "You're kidding me."

Rhonda was outraged. "_What!_ What's wrong with the tape! Sid, what did you _do?!"_

Sid shrugged, confused. "I didn't do anything."

Harold cried out. "What's wrong with the tape? I wanted to humiliate Helga. Aw, this isn't fair!"

Stinky scratched his head. "I reckon I don't get it."

Rhonda darted her eyes to each of them suspiciously. "All right, the tape was in my room for the last thirty minutes. Who touched the tape?!"

Gerald sat up and stepped to the middle of the room. "I did!"

Rhonda was shocked as she pulled the tape out from the VHS, it was destroyed. "Gerald,_ you?_ Why would you mess with it?" She was trying desperately to fix the wrinkled black film so that they could watch it again, but it was a hopeless cause.

Gerald spoke. "Arnold and I may be in a little quarrel right now and Helga may be a little mean, but that doesn't mean they both deserve this. Arnold is my _best friend_, and I don't understand what's going on between him and Helga, but it isn't our business to understand anyway."

Sid walked over. "But, _Gerald,_ I thought that you were _for_ this."

Rhonda added, walking over as well. "Yeah, Gerald, you told me it didn't matter if Helga was revealed, so why did you destroy the tape?"

"I don't like Helga too much, but after talking with Arnold tonight, I realized something. If it's important to him, it's important to me. I don't understand it and I may _never _understand it, but whatever is going on between those two, I accept it. Even if Arnold never wants to talk to me again, I will still back him up."

Arnold smiled. "Thanks Gerald."

Gerald winked and smiled back. "No problem, bro. As for everyone else, just get over it. Arnold convinced me tonight that we all have our monsters in the closet. There's no sense in trying to figure them out or change them. It is the way of life."

Rhonda, Sid, Stinky and Harold all looked down in thought, a little surprised at the turn of events, but understanding what he was saying. It was similar to what Arnold said earlier, even if it was in anger that Arnold said it.

"Cecile" took a deep breath, stepping up. She was _sick _of the charades, she was _sick _of hiding stuff, and she was even _sicker_ of Arnold putting everything on the line for her and her doing nothing for him in return. "_Excusez-moi_, I have a confession to make."

Arnold blinked in surprise, Gerald raised an eyebrow, and everyone stared in wonder at "Cecile".

Rhonda was _sick _of the interruptions. "What is it, Cecile? We're kind of in the middle of a—hoooooly—_OH MY GOD, HELGA!"_


	6. Helga's Secrets

**AN: **Hey, if anyone wants to talk, I'll be on chat tomorrow night. Trying to get the rest of my Christmas stuff done right now. Here's the last chapter! HAVE FUN! Review please.

**Chapter 6: Helga's Secrets**

Helga took off her pink mask, threw it on the floor, and pulled at her hair to form two black and blonde pigtails and reveal two eyes with black eye shadow all over them. She sighed in defeat, "Yes, it's Helga."

Arnold walked over to her, whispering to her. "Helga, what are you _doing?"_

Harold said, speechless. "Helga—is that Helga?" He fainted.

Sid and Stinky stared a moment, before backing up in terror. Sid spoke. "We didn't mean it!"

Gerald said, with a raised eyebrow. "_Helga_, what are you doing here?"

Helga looked around at everyone except Arnold. "Okay, seriously, what is _wrong_ with all of you? Trying to blackmail me and sabotaging a secret of mine is an absolute _ridiculous _method of revenge." Rhonda was too surprised to speak, and so was everyone else, so Helga continued to reveal herself. "I mean, truth be told, I've done some pretty horrible things to all of you. I probably deserve a lot worse than _that."_

Gerald crossed his arms. "What are you talking about? You've done nothing any worse than what _we've _done."

She shrugged. "Yeah, but after talking with the princess and listening to 'Mr. Goodie-to-shoes' confessions, I realized I'm pretty awful—and Football Head must care a _heck_ of a lot about me to put himself and his personality out there for me. You chuckleheads might not know the Football Head and his hidden personality well, but I do, and for him to display it is just proof of how much he cares."

Gerald spoke, trying to get an answer out of Helga, since he couldn't get one out of Arnold, "So, wait a minute, what's the truth, then? If you're willing to tell, of course."

Helga smiled at Arnold, who was starting to blush and looked a little uncomfortable.

Arnold said, whispering to her. "You don't have to tell them, Helga…"

But Helga smirked at everyone else instead; ignoring Arnold's request, and said. "If Arnold can keep a secret from everyone about me and reveal himself to everyone because he cares about me, the least I can do is be open about _me,_ right?"

Rhonda was surprised. "What are you talking about?"

Helga walked over to Arnold and he backed away until he backed into a wall…

Arnold whispered back feverishly as she approached him. "You don't have to do this for me—I don't want you to feel like you have to be public about this—what are you do—" And then her lips locked onto his as she pushed him against the wall, with everyone watching them.

Rhonda gasped, almost collapsing, and had to sit down in a nearby chair because of shock. Gerald shook his head because he had already seen some crazy stuff between the two of them recently and this was just adding another one to the list, and Sid and Stinky made disgusted faces at one another, looking as if they were going to throw up.

"Gee wilickers!" Stinky said.

Sid gave Stinky a look of shock and whispered. "You can say that again."

"Gee wilickers!"

"I didn't mean literally, Stinky."

Harold ran out and into the bathroom to throw up.

Helga was French kissing him now and Arnold was kissing back heavily, they were completely oblivious to their surroundings. With their last kiss being over two weeks ago, they were starved for love and passion from each other; Arnold wanting to keep the physical part of their relationship light because of Helga not wanting to reveal herself to everyone yet. Helga moved her arms down to grope him, rubbing his back with one hand and feeling him down lower with the other. Arnold gasped into her mouth in shock when he felt her hands on his butt again, but then grabbed the back of her neck and deepened the kiss, trying to control himself not to do anything _crazy_ while everyone was watching. He rubbed her back with one hand and ran his hands through her hair with the other.

Arnold was surprised at himself: how could he tell Helga to wait until they were older to kiss like _this,_ did he forget how good it felt to feel like this? It was incredible! His body was running with shocks down from his neck to his feet, his lips were becoming swollen and red, this unbelievable urge to draw Helga closer to him developed in him.

Helga was moaning into his mouth, feeling Arnold shivering against her was making her shiver, too. She pulled her body closer to the wall, closer to his and swooned into his mouth.

Arnold couldn't think, his body was crushed into hers and the only thing he could think about was getting closer to her, somehow. His hand automatically went to the base of her back and lightly groped her bottom, forgetting for an instant that he was being watched. Arnold wasn't sure whose gasp was louder, Helga's or Rhonda's, but the latter was the one who snapped him out of it. He pulled back from Helga and gave her a surprised glance. Helga was equally surprised. He mouthed an "I'm sorry" to her as he heard his best friend yell to him.

"Man, oh man! I _knew_ you guys had something going on!"

Helga continued, speeding through her heartfelt confession, "Yes everyone, I'll admit it to you! I LOVE ARNOLD! I LOVE HIM! I'm crazy, gaga, oh-la-la, deeply, passionately, and obsessively in _love _with the boy! I've picked on him since I was three because all you _numskulls _were too stupid to understand what true love was! How else could I disguise my feelings when I was being picked on, except to pick on you guys and the one I cared _about?!_ _That's_ why I turned out the way I did! Did you _idiots_ ever think about just_ how_ I would've ended up if you would've accepted my feelings?! I could've been the nicest, sweetest, most innocent soul you'd ever meet! So, I'm not the_ only_ one responsible for whom I've become; you guys are too! And I'm telling you this not for your benefits, but for _ARNOLD'S._ If he wants to be open about our relationship after all he's done for me, that's what he's going to get, and if I want a physical relationship with him, that's what _I'm_ going to get and if any of you have a problem with _ANY OF THIS_ or feel the need to blab or pick on me and Arnold about it, or to tell the rest of the school what just happened, I'll take your tongue, use it as a rope and wrap it around your neck! After that, I'll punch you in the stomach so hard your intestines will fall out! Finally, your teeth will be punched out so bad, you'll need to go to the emergency room to stop the bleeding and get operated on! Understood!? Now, who's willing to pick on me about ANY OF THIS?!"

Everyone was silent: Harold, Stinky, Sid, Rhonda, Nadine, and Gerald didn't say a word. Neither did anyone else. Some bowed their heads, some looked frightened, but nobody spoke.

Helga huffed for a moment, and then grabbed Arnold's hand. "We've had enough of your _parties_, Rhonda-loid. We're leaving."

They were about to leave the room, but suddenly Arnold let go of Helga's hand, shocking her. She was about to demand an explanation, but calmed down when she saw Arnold walk back to the TV, grab their tape, and rejoin her.

Arnold grabbed her hand again and whispered to Helga, so that only she could hear him. "I still want our tape, maybe there's a way we can fix it," he turned to the others and remarked. "See you guys later, and Gerald." Gerald looked up, still a little surprised. "Thank you for being my best friend, and I forgive you."

Gerald smiled; waving bye to Arnold and his _girlfriend_.

Everyone was silent as they walked out. Rhonda was the first to speak. "Um…want to play Twister, anyone…?"

**Outside with Arnold and Helga:**

Arnold was suddenly hit by a realization as he walked Helga home. He stopped, letting go of her hand and turning to her a little frightened. "Wait a minute; did you say _physical relationship _earlier_?_ Helga, I wanted to make our relationship public, but I'm not sure we're ready to begin a physical one."

"Relax Arnold-o; I'm not talking about _sex._ I'm talking about the kissing, the groping, and the feeling—"

"—Are you _sure_ you're ready for something like that? I mean, you _just_ came out of the closet about us both. I don't think beginning a deeply physical relationship at our age is a good idea. I mean, we've only been going out for a little more than two week—"

"—But we've known each other since age three. Criminey, hair-boy, quit being such a _girl _about this, you know you want it as much as I do, and _don't_ try to deny it! Now, come on, I want back that make-out session you promised me in the lunchroom." Helga grabbed his shoulders, looking into his eyes intensely.

"Two weeks ago? Wait a minute, we just made out at Rhonda's party, and….you want to do it again?"

"Did I _stutter_ lover-boy? of _course_ I want to do it again, and Rhonda's party doesn't count since we were interrupted by the fashion princess herself. Now, hurry up and follow me to _Mighty Pete_ before I change my mind!"

Arnold shook his head, completely baffled but somehow, still incredibly eager. He grabbed her hands and smirked at her. "Whatever you say, Helga."

"You've got it, whatever _I _say."

**The End**


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